Shimmer (Jennifer McBride & Lynda Nixon, Fremantle Press)

When I was asked if I wanted to review Shimmer, it was pitched to me as ‘a teenage genie from another planet is sent to earth …’ and I didn’t hear anything else because the word ‘yes’ had already come out of my mouth. I do not regret my impulsiveness. This is a story about a stubborn and angry 13-year-old genie empress, Kora, who is sent to live on earth by her parents, against her will, so she can learn to serve before she learns to rule. Oh, and also to hide her from a half-human/half-genie maniac who is waging war against her home planet and who wants to kidnap her because she’s the most powerful genie to be born in centuries. After arriving on earth Kora meets, and is very reluctantly tied to, her newfound master, a boy named David. By asking her to help him find his soldier father, who is missing in action, and by agreeing to risk his life to help her own endangered family, David brings Kora down to earth figuratively as well as literally. Shimmer is a fun, touching and easy-to-read book for younger readers of both genders, with something in it for everyone.

Dani Solomon is a bookseller at Readings Carlton

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews